The Long Road to Beta Cells
Quest for type 1 diabetes cure inches forward
By Brian Vastag
In 2000, researchers in Canada reported a possible breakthrough in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. By transfusing insulin-producing cells from donated pancreases into patients, the researchers provided what looked like cures. Within a week after the procedure, all of the first six patients were liberated from daily insulin injections.
For a time, the team that developed the procedure, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, appeared to have succeeded where many others had failed.